Christmas Traveling

Rod and I just got back from quite a bit of traveling around Texas. Nana and Pops came to our house on Christmas Eve for a fabulous dinner and celebration. We had smoked turkey from Pok-E-Jos, and I made the side dishes: Mushrooms Florentine, Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, Salad, and a really yummy new recipe that involved sauteing garlic, thyme, olive oil, and shallots, then mixing that with sliced-in-half cherry tomatoes. We spent Christmas morning at our house then took off for Kerrville to see Linda and Merle, as well as Gwen's Family. Linda prepared a fabulous breakfast and dinner every day. I don't know what she'll do with all the leftovers...but I bet Merle will make sure they're put to good use. Tatum is currently obsessed with anything Wall-E, and promptly curled up with his Wall-E pillow and blanket that we gave him as soon as he opened it. After a couple of days there, we drove to Houston to see Rod's Mom. We visited with Aixa, Tracy, and Vida and played our new Price Is Right Wii game, which was really (surprisingly) fun. Both Rod and I visited with some old friends from high school while we were in the Houston area, as well. We also visited the Downtown Houston Aquarium. On the way back home we drove through College Station since Rod had to check on something for his work. We stopped off at Elizabeth's house and the kids didn't want to leave, so they stayed while we came home! It feels odd to be separated from them, but they will be back on Wednesday. Rod has to go back to College Station on Tuesday for work, and he will bring them back Wednesday morning. We are going to go to Chez Zee for dinner tonight, then out to a movie afterwards. Normally I would have a workout class tonight but they have closed for the whole week. I made it up (sort of) by helping rake the massive amount of leaves that abdicated their home on our tree in the front yard. Several pictures from the last few days are posted for your enjoyment. I will take some of the Kurusz side of the family on New Years, when Elizabeth and fam come up to Austin. (Check out Great-Grandma Vida's dog Jacky--this is a very docile dog but the picture makes it look like he's really mad. Maybe he was just licking his lips. Made me laugh...)